BusinessDesk Article by Jonathan Underhill
Fletcher Building, the construction and building materials group, has agreed to sell the New Zealand electrical products distribution business, Corys Electrical, to Sonepar SA, a global distribution company.

Fletcher acquired Corys when it bought Australia’s Crane Group for $1.2 billion in a cash and scrip deal last year. The sale would bring to almost $90 million the amount Fletcher has realised from sales of non-core Crane assets, including two metals distribution businesses announced in July, the Auckland-based company said in a statement today.

The sale follows a restructuring of the distribution business into Corys and Mico Plumbing last year, when it embarked on cost cutting plans to make up for declining revenue.

Sonepar, a family-owned French company, operates in 35 countries and has annual sales of more than 15 billion euros, according to the Fletcher statement. The sale of Cory’s may take four months to complete, it said.

Fletcher last month credited Crane as making the single-biggest contribution to revenue last year, helping lift sales by 20 percent to $8.87 billion. The company’s shares were unchanged at $6.65, and have gained 8.3 percent this year.